Ray awoke on the fifth morning of their journey with the feeling that he had forgotten something. He checked all of his gear, seeing if he may have left something at one of their past campsites, but he found everything in its correct place. He sat and pondered for a few minutes, scratching his chin in thought before it finally came to him. Ray had been so caught up with his creation of Erith's new weapon and her gaining a class that he had forgotten to check his quest rewards. He finally opened his status panel and focused on his new title.
First Threshold
Pass the first threshold, all stats +1 per level over 10
He had already expected this title from Erith's explanation and knew that he would get a similar one for each threshold that he passed, but it would still be a great boost to his future progress. Next, he opened a new option that had appeared on his status, called gain Panel.
Panel Selection
Construction: Create and maintain shelters and large structures
Smithing: Shape metal with ease
Lesser Spark Creation: Create lesser sparks with the ability to power mechanisms
Chemistry: create medicinal items and resource recovery potions
Node access: Restricted
Merchant: Buy and sell items in an open market
Martial: Train in combat and combat-related skills
Taming: Befriend and control animals
Bounty: Post and accept contracts
Waypoint: Set and travel between waypoints.
Warning waypoints cost 10% of your maximum mana to keep open
…
A list of hundreds of different options sorted into 10 item pages appeared before him. He read through a few of the options, noticing that they seemed to get less related to him the further he went. Deciding that one of the first ten would be best, he went back to inspect them closer. The first one that caught his interest was the spark creation panel. Looking at the description and remembering what the thin man had said about the tablet that he had, he wondered if he could create devices like that with the panel. The next one that caught his eye did so for a different reason.
Why is node access only described as restricted?
Ray tried to focus on the option to see if he could learn anything more, but all he got in return was the feeling that he could not select that option even if he wanted to. He rubbed his chin in thought before finally moving on. There was nothing he could do about it at that moment. Maybe he would find out more about the panel in the future, but for now, it was a waste of time to ponder it any further. Looking over the remaining items, he ruled them out one by one before he finally settled on his first interest and selected Lesser Spark Creation.
Lesser Spark Creation Panel
Grade: N/A
Type: N/A
Personality: N/A
Function: N/A
Power Needed: N/A
Panel Access: N/A
Database: N/A
Skills: N/A
Stats: N/A
Please select a suitable vessel
Ray looked at the new screen and was unsure of what to do. He tried to select a few of the items that he carried, but they were all labeled invalid when selected. Not finding any insights, he turned to see if Erith knew anything.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“Have you heard anything about the lesser spark creation panel?”
“No? I haven't even heard of someone being able to create a spark. Is that something that you got access to through your class?” She asked.
“No, it was the panel that I gained access to from my threshold quest, but I can’t figure out how to use it.”
“Hmm, can you show it to me?”
“Sure, but I don’t know how much that will help. I have been looking at it for the last 10 minutes and I still can’t see what I am doing wrong.”
Ray said, opening the screen and revealing it to Erith. Her face took on a puzzled expression, looking at the page before her eyes lit up with an idea.
“Maybe the vessel needs to be alive somehow.”
Ray pondered the possibility for a few moments. On some levels, it made sense. Most everything that he knew of that had a spark was living. But there was only one slight problem with the theory.
“Then how did that thin man that took us to the trials have a tablet with a spark in it?”
Erith frowned at his statement. She had forgotten about that tablet, but now that Ray brought it up, he said that it had a lesser spark inside.
“Hmm,” she mussed.
“That tablet appeared to be made of rock. Maybe the problem is that you are trying to use it on too complex of an item.”
Ray thought about the possibility for a few minutes before picking up a stone and attempting to select it as the vessel. The panel's acceptance of the stone as a valid target surprised him, causing multiple screens with differing options to appear.
Personality
Unavailable
Function
Single
Dual
Full
Database
Yes
No
Panel Access
No available panels to add
Stats
Strength: 0
Endurance: 0
Dexterity: 0
Intelligence: 0
Wisdom: 0
Skills
Please select skills to add to Lesser spark
Ray looked through each screen, selecting each option to see their effect before deciding on the current setup that he had.
Lesser Spark Creation Panel
Grade: Below Common
Type: Lesser
Personality: None
Function: Single
Power Needed: 50 MP
Panel Access: None
Database: No
Skills: Appraisal
Stats
Strength: 0
Endurance: 0
Dexterity: 0
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 5
Insert Lesser Spark Y/N
While testing, Ray realized that if he selected dual or full for the function, attribute it would be 10x or 100x the mana cost, respectively. He also noted that he could add one skill with the function set to single, two with it set to dual, and all three with it set to full. The increased cost was also the reason that he selected No for the database attribute as he frankly did not know what it did and it added 100 to the mana cost when set to Yes. Finally, each stat added would increase the cost by 3 MP and that added to the base 20 MP that it seemed to cost no matter what he changed was how he had gotten to the current total. Happy with his selections, he selected Y. The stone expanded into an oddly flat shape with a square bump protruding from the middle of its new rectangular form. Erith’s eyes widened as she saw the sudden change happening in Ray’s hands.
“It worked.”
She exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air in a celebratory pose.
“Yeah! And now to try it out.”
Ray said, happy that he had figured out the panel with Erith’s help. He placed the protrusion on the small device and infused the mana. A small cry of success left his mouth as the information seen by his appraisal skill appeared.
“You have got to try this out.” He said, handing the stone to Erith.
She took it and tried placing it against her sword. Her eyes lit up when the same stats screen Ray had shown her popped up, displaying the blade’s information.
“Can I keep this?” She asked.
“Yes, I can just use my skill if I need to appraise something, so it is all yours.”
“Thank you.” She said, pocketing the stone.
“With the excitement behind us, let's finish your threshold quest,” Ray suggested.
Erith nodded in agreement, her eyes getting a determined glint. She had completed 2/3 of the quest already from what she had told Ray and all that remained was her class's equivalent of using the artisan panel on four items.
Kill 10 beasts after dealing damage with both a bladed weapon and fire magic. 6/10